[gabe]

We’ve got the drive planned! We tried to work around as many peoples’ schedules as possible when considering the time and day of the drive.


The Time & Date:
Sunday, October 20th/9:00 am

The Starting Point (9:00 am): We will meet at S. Campus drive where it intersects with Sheridan Rd. at Northwestern University in Evanston. Once you enter S. Campus drive from Sheridan (the intersection is on a bend of Sheridan that heads west) you will veer to the left and into a parking structure. Head to the top of the garage. To view a map of this area visit this site: http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/Evanston.jpg


The Final Destination: Quigs; a Family Restaurant, Country Store, Bakery, Garden Gift Shop, Greenhouse, Apple Orchard, Beer Garden, Haunted Events, and Much More! They specialize in pumpkins of all varieties to gourds and other fall decorative items. Kids welcome! for more info visit www.quigs.com


The Plan: We will meet at S. Campus drive where it intersects with Sheridan at Northwestern University in Evanston. Once you enter S. Campus drive from Sheridan (the intersection is on a bend of Sheridan that heads west) you will veer to the left and into a parking structure. Head to the top of the garage. Again visit this page for a detailed map:
http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/Evanston.jpg

From there we will head north on Sheridan Rd for about a half an hour. You will enjoy one of the most beautiful roads Illinois has to offer (not to mention some of the most beautiful homes). It’s worth noting that Sheridan twists around quite a bit. If for some reason you loose the pack, make sure to keep an eye out for street signs (referring to the Great Lakes Circle Tour Rd.) as we’ll be making quite a few turns in the Highland Park area. However the road is marked fairly well, so it should be fairly easy to figure it out. Again just keep track of the signs pointing the direction of the Great Lakes Circle Tour Road. For more detailed information refer to this map: http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/map2.jpg

Once we get to Market Square in Lake Forest, we will park and get our bearings for the final leg of the trip. For your convenience, there is a Starbucks on N. Bank Lane just off the northwest end of the square. There is also the Midwest’s largest Ferrari dealership two blocks north on N. Western Ave. for those who might want to sneak a peak.

After a 15 minute break we will be on our way once again to our final destination, Quig’s. For a map of this section of the trip visit this site: http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/LF_to_Quigs.jpg

After Quigs if anyone is interested there is a couple other attractions in the area. If you continue on Rt 60 until it ends at Rt 120 and then go left/west for another mile or so, just past Rt 12 the second street on the right is Volo Village Rd, take that right and go a block... cool car museum (www.volocars.com) & antique shops.


The Directions: From Evanston to Lake Forest (via Sheridan Rd):

1: Start out going north on Sheridan 22 miles
2: Turn LEFT East Deerpath 0.27 miles
3: Turn RIGHT on N. Western Rd 0.01 miles
4: Turn RIGHT into Market Square 0.00 miles

Total Distance: 22.28 miles
Please visit http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/map2.jpg to view and print the map of this section of the trip. A word of warning, the map will take up 6 pages when printed

Directions From Lake Forest to Quigs:

1: Start out going West on E DEERPATH RD towards N BANK LN. 1.21 miles
2: Turn LEFT to take the US-41 S ramp. 0.27 miles
3: Merge onto N SKOKIE HWY. 0.23 miles
4: Turn RIGHT onto IL-60 (Townline Rd.)
5. Follow Rt 60. Quig's is just after Midlothian Rd, about 7 miles past the
freeway (94) on the north/right side of the road (Rt. 60 and Rt. 83 merge to
become one road for several miles, this road is called Rt. 60/83.)

Total Distance: ±8.83 miles
Please visit http://www.bridger.us/MINI/files/LF_to_Quigs.jpg to view and print the map of this section of the trip

If anyone has an FRS radio and would be willing to bring them we could use them at the beginning and end of the pack to help keep everyone running smoothly. Also it might be a good idea if everyone who has one bring a map of the Chicago area just in case.

Please drop me a line if you know you're going to make it. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding any of the trip feel free to email me at gabrielbridger@.mac.com or Deb at nekowoman@aol.com

Hope to see you all there!
Gabe

www.bridger.us/MINI

[gabe]

An Update:

Looks like we'll have at least 10-12 MINIs on hand and possibly one Classic Mini as well. If anyone else is interested email me at: gabrielbridger@mac.com

cheers…

[NekoWoman]

I'll be there, Gabe! It's going to be a great drive!

[gabe]

First I have to say thanks to everyone for making this such a fun event. I think we ended up with 17 MINIs and 2 Classic Minis at one point today. When we talked about doing a casual drive up Sheridan Road sometime during the fall I could have never imagined it would have gone so smoothly and achieved such a great turn-out. It was fantastic seeing everyone again or in some cases meeting people for the first time.

Okay, to the pictures. To see all of them in their splendid glory feel free to visit the Chicago MINI Fall Tour page on my website.

I was really quite surprised at the turnout:


It was pretty cool seeing that old Mini Cooper S barreling down on me in turns:


Our Cooper:


Notice the size difference between my wheels on the wheels on that vintage Cooper S next to me - pretty amazing:


A pic of the 2000 Mini that joined us:


A panoramic shot of everyone:


Thanks all!

[ernesto]

Hey Gabe,

I had a great time. A big thanks to you and everyone else for all the hard work organizing this event.